Somehow I
made it to adulthood without reading The
Great Gatsby or seeing the 1974 movie. But I wanted to read the book before
I saw the latest version this Spring. While there are elements of the book that
will translate to the screen (especially in a Baz Luhrmann film), I was
disappointed in the book. I know it's considered a classic, but overall, it's
not an engaging read.
The plot
is straightforward. The narrator, Nick Carraway, is a college graduate and war
veteran working in New York City
Although
Gatsby's past and the source of wealth are unknown, one thing is certain - he
throws extravagant parties, attended by anyone and everyone. "People were
not invited - they went there. They got into automobiles which bore them out to
Long Island , and somehow they ended up at
Gatsby's door. Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby, and
after that they conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior
associated with an amusement park."
At one of
these lavish parties Nick meets Gatsby, and despite his mysterious past, his
questionable wealth and his shady business associates - or more likely because
of them - Nick develops a fondness for Gatsby.
Unbeknownst
to Nick, Gatsby once dated his second cousin Daisy, who is now married to Tom
Buchanan and living in fashionable East Egg. Tom has cheated on Daisy
throughout their marriage. His current mistress, Myrtle Wilson, is married to a
witless cuckold, who also happens to be Tom's mechanic.
When
Daisy learns that Nick is Gatsby's neighbor, she coerces him into a reunion
with Gatsby and they soon rekindle their romance. Daisy is intent on flaunting
the relationship in front of Tom, and he tolerates it, perhaps as retribution
for his infidelity, until one awkward evening. After a night of drinking Tom
confronts them. Gatsby and Daisy leave together. As they are racing through
town, they pass the home of Myrtle Wilson. She and her husband have also been fighting;
Myrtle's husband George knows she is having an affair, but he doesn't know it
is with Tom. Gatsby and Daisy hit Myrtle as she is running to flag down the car
and escape George. In the wake of the accident Tom and Daisy appear to
reconcile and leave town. Gatsby reveals his back story to Nick, who encourages
Gatsby to leave town as well.
Tom tells
George that Gatsby struck his wife, and George assumes Gatsby was her lover. He
tracks down Gatsby and kills him. Nick is left to contact Gatsby's family and
plan his funeral. Despite his popularity while alive, Gatsby's funeral is only
attended by three people.
I know
The Great Gatsby is widely read and much loved, praised by critics and readers
for decades. But to me this is a book whose parts are greater than its sum. The
individual characters are interesting, but collectively they are the worst type
of clique - selfish, aloof, devoid of sympathy or remorse. Even though Nick is
likable and pitiable, he's impressionable. I wonder why he was so interested
in the 'in crowd' even though he recognized how fake they were. I'm not even
sure Fitzgerald liked his characters, especially the women. There is not a
single admirable female character in the book. They are either materialistic,
androgynous or home wreckers.
Moreover,
the love story between Daisy and Gatsby, the quintessential love story that was
the impetus for all the events in the book, isn't convincing. In fact it's as impulsive
and affected as Daisy's other whims (including the daughter she completely
ignores).
In the
end Nick finally realized what we've known all along, that Daisy, Tom and
Gatsby "were careless people ... they smashed up things and creatures and
then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it
was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had
made."
He acknowledges
that the East, with all its "superiority to the bored, sprawling, swollen
towns beyond the Ohio
